STPR ProRally Press Notes 2
6 June 1999
STPR ProRally Press Notes Page 2 1.) For those who were wondering, we elected not to attempt to put out the normal preliminary start list due to the very large oversubscription here. The field is limited to 80 starters, but 105 entries were received, perhaps the largest entry ever for a ProRally. With that many extra cars, it was certain that there would be a fair number of changes. There were, almost up to the start. 2.) Among them was Frank Cunningham, who lost a brand new engine in his Group 5 Volkswagen G60 this morning before the car ever turned a wheel in competition. This was after the truck towing the rally car broke down yesterday in New York, and a replacement had to be brought from Boston. After all of the hassles to get the car here, they never even made it to the start. 3.) Prior to the arrival of cars in town, Jamaican Dean Panton withdrew his entry. He had been set to run a Hyundai Elantra. 4.) Jim Anderson is bringing his Group 5 Honda Prelude VTEC out for the first time this year. It’s sporting a new graphics treatment, a new sponsor, Stock Charts, and new Wilwood four-piston front brakes. Future mods will include switching to gearing from an Accord Type R to better use the VTEC power. 5.) Leslie Suddard’s Group 5 Dodge Charger is carrying new sponsorship that is very appropriate for this area. LYMErix is the first vaccine for the treatment of lyme disease, which is a rapidly increasing problem in a number of places around the country. The area around Wellsboro has one of the higher incidences. 6.) Two-time PGT champion Steve Gingrich has moved up to Open Class, and this is the first time out for his upgraded Eagle Talon. 7.) There will be a bit of friendly sponsor rivalry within Libra Racing, as Noel Lawler’s Hyundai Tiburon is now sporting the logos of Hanson Beverage’s Energy drink. Teammate Paul Choiniere’s Tiburon carries the identification of Energy’s prime competitor, Red Bull. 8.) We will have 13 stages today and tonight, four on the morning-afternoon leg, and the remaining nine on the evening-night section. Overall, this is a comparatively compact event, with the stage and transit miles virtually evenly split, at 158 stage miles and 157 transit miles. 9.) Another of the teams coming out for the first time this season is the two-car entry from Team Honda Research. This is not a “factory” effort, even though both drivers and co-drivers are engineers at Honda’s research and development facility in Ohio. Jay Kowalik and Scott Embree have revised suspension on the Civic HX Coupe, which is again using Honda’s continuously variable transmission. Bryan Hourt and Pete Cardimen are in the Civic DX with the manual transmission. The first DNF reported was at the end of Stage 1, the famous creek crossing. Ivan and Olga Orisek flashed across the creek and up the bank on the far side, but were unable to get their Audi quattro to turn when they crested the bank. They went straight on into a large tree, folding in the front of the car and scattering nearby spectators. No one was injured, but it is said that there were some very wide-awake spectators in the area after that.